I was a pretty crummy student. My math and science grades were below average. Junior and senior high school were excruciating experiences made tolerable by my love of computer programming and fantastic music teachers. *
By the time I got to college, I took Algebra every time I needed to satisfy a math requirement and understanding as little as during my previous attempts. School often made me feel stupid, yet I also realized at a very young age that school was a cosmic farce I would somehow overcome.
Against that backdrop it’s difficult to imagine that the first time I ever spoke at a conference was at MIT. The occasion was Logo ’85 - The International Logo Conference. (Back then, edtech conferences had no exhibit hall and were held at places like MIT)
When this twenty-two year-old halfway through my 7 ½ year undergraduate studies, exited a taxi on the MIT campus, a group of people greeted me with, “Come on. Join us for dinner!” One of my dinner companions was Dr. Cynthia Solomon, now an irreplaceable member of the Constructing Modern Knowledge faculty.
Cynthia Solomon is a giant in our field despite her lack of recognition and absence from the lists of important edtech folks. That’s a real shame, especially when women and minorities are so underrepresented in our field. I am honored to have known Cynthia for twenty-five years and am deeply indebted to her for her participation in Constructing Modern Knowledge for the third consecutive year.
Cynthia Solomon Teaching at CMK 2009
So, who is Cynthia Solomon. She’s a computer scientist, educator and the inventor of the Logo programming language for children. That’s right, Cynthia Solomon, Wally Feurzig and Seymour Papert are responsible for creating Logo back in 1968. For the next two decades, Cynthia was engaged in much of the foundational research on children constructing knowledge with computers.
Check out the paper, Twenty Things to Do with a Computer, that Cynthia and Seymour published in 1971. How does what your school does with computers thirty-nine years later measure up?
Long associated with the MIT Artificial Intelligence and Media Labs, Dr. Solomon went on to lead the Atari Cambridge Research Laboratory in the 1980s. Alan Kay led the Atari Lab on the West Coast. (Check out the amazing historic videos she has assembled from that period) After that she was a founder of Logo Computer Systems, Inc. and earned a doctorate in education from Harvard. Until just a few years ago, Cynthia was a full-time school computer teacher.
Solomon’s doctoral dissertation is the basis for the seminal book, Computer Environments for Children: A Reflection on Theories of Learning and Education. If you haven’t read it, you should. She is also coauthor with Allison Druin of the book, Designing Multimedia Environments for Children.
In the late eighties I organized a distinguished speakers series for NJ school leaders and Cynthia Solomon was the first person I hired. Since then we’ve worked together with the MIT Media Lab Future of Learning Goup in Mexico City and at the One Laptop Per Child Foundation.
One of life’s great gifts is having the privilege to meet and get to know extraordinarily smart and talented folks like Cynthia Solomon. What a pleasure it was to watch Cynthia, Deborah Meier and Lella Gandini discuss David Hawkins at last year’s CMK.
Through Cynthia, I’ve met people like Marvin Minsky (who led fireside chats the past two CMKs) and Stephen Wolfram. Cynthia seems to know all of the smartest scientists and mathematicians of the past half-century. Now, participants in Constructing Modern Knowledge get to know HER.
My greatest joy comes from creating opportunities for educators to learn from and interact with smart, talented and innovative people. That’s why Cynthia Solomon is part of the remarkable Constructing Modern Knowledge faculty and why you should attend.
The Constructing Modern Knowledge faculty also includes Deborah Meier, Alfie Kohn, Dr. James Loewen, Peter Reynolds, Briann Silverman, John Stetson, Sylvia Martinez & Dr. Gary Stager.
* My Ph.D. in science and mathematics education is the best revenge.
Some of the best minds and accomplished innovators in education are gathering at Constructing Modern Knowledge 2010, July 12-15, 2010 in Manchester, NH. Popular author, researcher and fearless provocateur Alfie Kohn, was a guest speaker at the inaugural event in 2008 and will be with us again.
To help spread the word, we have posted several compelling clips from Alfie’s last conversation at Constructing Modern Knowledge.
- Alfie Kohn on Constructivism
- Alfie Kohn on Teacher as Facilitator
- Alfie Kohn on Learning from the Inside Out
- Alfie Kohn on Assessment
- Alfie Kohn on Motivating Students
There is still plenty of time to register for the best professional learning event of the year. Where else can you engage in conversations with the likes of Alfie Kohn, Deborah Meier, James Loewen or Peter Reynolds and design exciting creative high-tech projects with support from Sylvia Martinez, Brian Silverman, Gary Stager and John Stetson? Exciting social events are planned as well!
Don’t miss out!
In March I had the great honor of being the keynote speaker at the 3rd ICTQatar ICT in Education national conference in Doha, Qatar. That was my 3rd trip to Qatar over the past couple of years.
Following my keynote, a nice young gentleman asked if he could interview me. I was happy to oblige and we found a vacant lounge area on the college campus where the conference was being held. That’s when the hijinx began.
First of all, the interviewer didn’t have a tripod. I convinced him that going handheld was a bad idea and helped him prop the camera on top of a camera bag. Then midway through the interview, one of his colleagues inexplicably walked into the lounge, headed to the light switches and cut our lights. After we objected, the guy spent a few minutes trying to turn the lights back on. After failing to do so, he shrugged and said, “Go somewhere else.” Eventually, the lights were turned on and a tripod emerged.
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Despite these technical difficulties, I believe that the interview came out quite nicely and I was able to explore some issues in-depth. You might think of it as my “UnTED Talk.”
If you have 42 spare minutes, you might wish to watch this video. Pleae not be put-off my the incredibly unattractive poster image displayed in the static video player below.
Many thanks to ICTQatar for the terrific job of putting the video on YouTube.
Watch Stager Webinar Now!
A few nights ago, I led a webinar for old friends in the State of Victoria (Australia) as part of an online course/seminar/learning community focused on issues surrounding effective 1:1 computing. The course is called 1 to 1 Next Steps. My webinar was entitled, “Creative Computing and the Case for Project-based Learning.”
You may now watch and listen to a recording of that webinar here.
The digital handout I created to accompany the webinar and stimulate further discussion may be found here. It is hardly exhaustive. I wanted to provide educators with just enough information to inspire their imaginations and generate discussion.
For those of you who have heard me speak before, there are indeed some familiar themes in this webinar. However, there are some new ideas expressed as well. Many of these ideas frame my work as a teacher educator, speaker, teacher and consultant.
As always, your comments are always welcome.
Enjoy!
I’ve written another article about teaching with computers for The Creative Educator magazine. The Genius of Print may be downloaded here (pdf) or you may download the entire issue of the magazine.
You may also download, read and share the entire issue of The Creative Educator magazine here.
You might also enjoy reading two articles I wrote for previous issues of The Creative Educator about effective project-based learning.
Download and distribute:
click article to download
Twenty Lessons from Twenty Years of 1:1 Computing
The presenter has led 1:1 implementations around the world since working with the first two “laptop schools” back in 1990. This presentation distills this unrivaled experience into a quick exposition of the lessons learned for professional development, planning and infrastructure, defining a vision, raising expectations, best teaching practices and bold imaginative classroom applications.
The presenter will share strategies that succeeded in schools across the globe and those that failed. He will also challenge some of the conventional wisdom regarding the rationale, expectations and implementation of 1:1 in schools today.
During challenging times when school districts face challenges involving finances and educational progress, it is critical that investments are prudent, aspirations high and leadership enabled to implement and sustain new approaches to teaching and learning in the 21st Century. This presentation is designed to help attendees achieve those objectives.
This will be done with wit, candor and examples from diverse school contexts. All of this “free advice” is offered to help educators create the richest possible learning opportunities for students today and into the foreseeable future.
The presentation will feature video-based case studies of students using personal laptop computers in imaginative ways. Tips for planning a successful 1:1 implementation, funding strategies, answers to frequently asked questions strategies for sustaining innovation and student achievement will be shared. Links to resources, information sources and research will be provided.
Creativity 2.0 – The Quest for Meaning, Beauty and Excellence
Authors and pundits stress the importance of creativity, but what does that mean or look like in classrooms? This session will address questions, such as: How do we get there? What do we need to change? Is creativity reserved for specific subject areas? Which hardware and software support creativity? What are the essential elements of effective project-based learning?
Technical ease is no substitute for artistic or scientific rigor. It’s about time that more students produce evidence of greater technological fluency. This session will propose how learners might use technology in imaginative ways to create expressions of value; to develop habits of mind, such as discipline; and contribute to a timeless cultural continuum and world of ideas.
Other keynote and workshop topics may be found here.
Download The Stager Difference explaining my speaking, consulting and PD services.
Several weeks ago, I enjoyed the great privilege of leading a webinar for the Discovery Educator Network. Despite some technical hiccups and mortal fear that my cordless phone battery would soon die, the webinar, Creative Computing and the Case for Project-based Learning, went extremely well. I’m proud of the presentation, even if the audio sounds a bit like a first-time caller to Dr. Laura.
I am grateful to the folks at Discovery, especially Steve Dembo, for working so hard to make the archive available for others to enjoy.
Feel free to share this link with friends and colleagues. While you’re at it, please take a moment and vote for me to keynote ISTE 2010!
If the embedded video doesn’t work, click here
I’ve been waiting for months to be able to share this news with you. About 18 months ago I was asked to be in a film about creativity, math, science, engineering and imagination. So I shaved my mustache for the first time since I was eleven and headed down to the “shoot” at a Jetsons-influenced building adjacent to The California Science Center.
The new documentary film, imagine it!² The Power of Imagination. is about connecting imagination and creativity with science and engineering in education. The 52-minute film inspires people to imagine a better world, unleash their creativity and take action to solve global challenges.
I am in august company for my film debut. Other experts interviewed in imagine it!² The Power of Imagination, include:
- Stanford University President, John Hennessy
- Author, Sir Ken Robinson
- Futurist and author, Ray Kurzweil
- G. Wayne Clough, Secretary, Smithsonian Institution
- Segway Inventor, Dean Kamen
- Palm Computing co-founder, Jeff Hawkins
- Peter Diamandis, CEO, The X Prize
- Former MIT President and President of the National Academy of Engineering, Charles Vest
- The Founders of The Blue Man Group
One lesson I learned was not to shave for the first time in 34 years if the film is being shot in HD. The other is that I need a wicked cool British accent like Sir Ken Robinson. He gets an exponentially greater amount of face-time than this humble blogger. He can really rock that accent.
Despite Sir Ken bogarting the film, some of my outtakes are on the Web for you to cherish for years to come.
You may watch the film via the Web or purchase the imagine it!² The Power of Imagination DVD at www.imagineitproject.com. Educators are also encouraged to “remix” the content with tools on the Web site. My outtakes (no bloopers that I know of) may be viewed at http://www.imagineitproject.com/?p=1834
If you can’t get enough of Stager on screen, check out the video from when I rocked NECC this past July!
There are many ways to evaluate excellent educational leadership. Here is a true story demonstrating such leadership.
A school principal recently led me on a tour of his elementary school. As we walked into one classroom I saw the blood flush from the principal’s face. We walked in on a classroom full of children watching a Disney cartoon while their teacher did paperwork. Once outside the classroom the principal apologized profusely and promised that the teacher would be spoken to.
This principal was embarassed by the lack of teacher professionalism demonstrated by using a cartoon to distract her students. Such practice is widespread and illegal. It is against the law to show commercial films to a public audience (including public schools) without the consent or license of the publisher.
My grade school-age nephews are watching plenty of commercial films as the school year winds down. Therefore, I’m inspired to share an article I wrote six years ago.
One seventh grader’s journey includes learning math through Scooby Doo
A version of this was published in the August 2001 issue of Curriculum Administrator Magazine
At our annual family dinner to celebrate the end of another school year each of our children reflected upon the lessons learned and the obstacles overcome during the previous ten months. Our seventh-grade daughter, who will be referred to by the top-secret code name of Miffy, shared with us a new pedagogical strategy and use of educational technology not yet conceived of during my school years. What was this innovation? Was it project-based learning, multiage collaboration, constructionism, online publishing, modeling and simulation? No, it was Disney films.
Yup, that’s right. Disney films (and several others too).
The following is a partial list of the films shown this year during class time by my daughter’s teachers.
I know that you must be marveling at the remarkable interdisciplinary properties of The Nightmare Before Christmas. You may also be wondering why there were no movies shown during fifth period. That’s because they don’t show movies during lunch.
Now I’m as fond of wasting time and goofing-off as the next guy, but Miffy was able to remember watching at least 34 films having no educational value whatsoever in one school year. In case you were thinking that they could be studying film criticism or visual storytelling you should know that they only watched half of most films because the periods are too short. Others were watched over several days.
This remarkable waste of class time occurred in a school where requests for meaningful projects, hands-on experiments, field-trips, drama and other productive learning experiences are abandoned because of an oft-repeated “lack of time.” Sure the standardized tests and top-down curricular pressures wreak havoc with creating a productive context for learning, but we can’t blame this one on Princeton or the President. Somewhere along the line educators determined that the demanding curriculum was elastic enough for the illegal showing of countless commercial films.
My Daughter the Rodeo Clown
Miffy also told me that due to the SAT-9 exams, Career Day had been cancelled. I’m not sure which part of that statement is most tragic, so let’s state it in the form of a standardized test question.
Which is most pathetic?
a) Canceling Career Day because of SAT-9 testing
b) Career Day
c) The school’s remedy for having cancelled career day
The ingenious remedy chosen was to spend much of the last week of school watching a series of instructional videos called, “Real Life 101.” While hardly as educational as Mulan, these shows turned out to be far more entertaining. The audience was repeatedly reminded, “you don’t need a college degree for this career, but it wouldn’t hurt!”
You can’t make this stuff up! The worksheet that followed the Career Day substitute asked each child to rank these careers in order of preference and write a few sentences explaining their number one choice.
If I wanted my children to watch television, I’d let them stay home. At least at home they could watch something educational like “Behind the Music: The Mamas and the Papas“or learn about Beat poetry from the “Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.” At least then they would have a chance to learn something more than the unfortunate lessons being modeled by their schools.
I recently wrote two articles about project-based learning for The Creative Educator Magazine.
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click article to download
